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Argentina captain Lionel Messi is expected to start in Tuesday’s friendly against Zambia, which will serve as the team’s final match on home soil ahead of the World Cup.
Head coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed that Messi, who came off the bench in the team’s recent win over Mauritania, will lead a largely full-strength squad for the match.
“Messi will be in the starting lineup tomorrow,” Scaloni said.
Messi, 38, has yet to officially confirm his participation in the upcoming World Cup, although he featured prominently during Argentina’s qualification campaign.
Scaloni suggested that the forward is likely to be part of the squad, noting that the focus is on ensuring he enjoys what could be his final appearance at the tournament.
“The important thing is that he comes and enjoys being at a World Cup, which, theoretically, will be his last.
“We want him to enjoy it, because later on, you really miss playing in events like these.”
The coach added that most of the team’s established players will feature in the match as part of final preparations, describing the fixture as a key test ahead of the competition.
Scaloni also downplayed concerns over Argentina’s previous performance, expressing confidence in the team’s overall quality while leaving room to assess younger players later in the game.
“Most of the players we know well will be playing. This will be the final test,” Scaloni said.
“Later, we’ll make some changes to take a look at some of the younger guys, but the idea is to field our most familiar lineup.
“I am convinced that the team’s performance level is not what we saw the other day.If we see that the team isn’t quite there, we’ll look for other options. But they deserve a vote of confidence.”
He revealed that a provisional list of 55 players has already been submitted, with the final 26-man squad to be announced at the end of May, stressing that selections will ultimately be based on form and readiness.
“I have the list pretty well figured out, but if performance levels aren’t up to par, we’ll take measures to ensure we bring the absolute best squad possible; we are striving for something as close to perfection as we can get,” he said.
“The players who have been with us for a while hold a slight advantage simply because we know them well; however, they have to maintain that advantage, and everyone knows what happened the other day (against Mauritania) cannot be repeated.”
